Field of Invention
This invention pertains generally to gloves and, more particularly, to a glove for use by a person engaging in an activity such as weightlifting and other activities in which a person grips an object.
Related Art
People engaging in activities such as weightlifting, where the grip on an object is important, commonly use gloves to protect their hands and to get a better grip on the object. Gloves heretofore provided for such use often have pads on the palm and/or fingers which are intended to improve the grip and/or prevent slippage as well as protecting the hand. However, such pads are often in the wrong places and can actually make it more difficult for a person to close his hand about the object to get and maintain a firm grip. Moreover, padding on the palm can cause the palm portion of the glove to bunch up as the hand curls about the object, making it even more difficult to get a good grip.
The anatomy of the human hand is such that when the hand is curled about a cylindrical object, only the fleshier parts of the palm and fingers actually engage the object. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 1, when the hand grips an object 11 such as a weightlifting bar, the parts of the hand that engage the object are the lower part or base 12 of the palm, the upper part 13 of the palm, the lower sections 14 of the fingers, the middle sections 16 of the fingers, and the outer or tip sections 17 of the fingers. Between these fleshier parts, there are substantial voids or gaps where there is no contact with the object. The gaps correspond to the fold lines or joints of the hand and include gap 19 along the transverse fold lines 21, 22 of between the upper and lower sections of the palm, gap 23 along the joint lines 24 between the upper section of the palm and the base of the fingers, gap 26 along the joint lines 27 between the lower finger and middle finger sections, and gap 28 along the joint lines 29 between middle and tip sections of the fingers. These gaps compound the problem of getting a firm grip on the object while wearing gloves.